Noun \ Fem・i・nism

Hi everyone! 

I usually don't spend money on magazines, since they are just full of expensive clothes I can't buy anyway. ;) But this month I saved up for the UK ELLE because it was a special 'feminist edition'. And I can tell you: you should buy it. It's really good. There are several articles in there, including an interview with Emma Watson. I love it, because a couple of years ago, feminism had kind of died out, yet now it seems that girls (and boys) around the world are becoming interested in the topic again. 

I think it's all about redefining feminism. See, officially, this is what feminism means:

Yet so many people still see it as something entirely different: man-hating, aggressiveness, the complainings of the overdramatic, etc. Young girls don't like to identify themselves as feminists, because they think it puts them in a double postition: on the one hand it makes them feel vulnerable (because they would put themselves in the position of the oppressed), and on the other hand it makes them think they'd be aggressive (because it would force them to be man-haters). Girls like the idea of the strong Sex and the City girl who walks around New York in her Prada shoes as she quickly gets a coffee before work, and they often feel like being a feminist would undermine this dream of being a strong city girl. It doesn't. Being a feminist doesn't change the way you look, what you wear, what you do and how you do it. You don't 'become' a feminist by signing up and then wearing the official uniform and reciting the official slogan to everyone you see. See, the thing is: you probably already are a feminist, you just don't know it. 

It's just a fact. There is still gender inequality. If you don't agree with this, stop reading and go google the issue. Or even better: go to the library and get some books, find some articles, read up on the situation. As Joss Whedon said in an interview: "(...) it's very clear that misogyny in our own culture — and not just where they perform genital mutilation and marry off 10-year-olds — runs so deep." If you are against gender inequality, you are a feminist. 

Does this make you anti-man? No! You are not against men! And also, gender inequality is men's issue too! How many guys feel like they can't cry in front of their friends and family, because it makes them unmanly? How many parents still feel like their sons shouldn't play with barbies? 

I like the way Emma Watson, as well as Elle Magazine, help to redefine feminism, to make people see that it's not just about the struggle for women's rights, but about fundamentally changing our society and our way of thinking about gender. Below, you can watch Emma Watson's UN speech for the HeForShe campaign, as well as a funny (and incredibly intelligent) speech Joss Whedon gives about the word Feminist. This part of Watson's speech basically sums it all up for me:

Enjoy! 

✎ Jade